Total Lubmarine investing in future proof lubricants

The marine lubricants market is under huge pressure to provide long-term solutions to its ship operating customers and Total Lubmarine is investing in new simple solutions according to Jean-Philippe Roman, Total Lubmarine’s technical director.

Speaking yesterday (Wednesday 29 November) at the Fuels, Lubes & Emissions Technology Conference in London, he outlined Total Lubmarine’s innovative approach to forthcoming regulations in the marine fuels market, in particular developments in emission control zones (ECAs) stipulated by the MARPOL Annex VI directive that will enter into force in 2015.

“From a customer’s point of view, a good lubricant is a lubricant which offers both improved performance and is simple to use. Low sulphur fuels and eco-engines throw up many challenges to lubricant suppliers and Total Lubmarine is committed to investing in the chemistry that will deliver the simpler oil lubricants in the future, ” said Jean-Philippe Roman.

Total Lubmarine has been pro-active in developing solutions to the soon-to-be enforced ECA regulations within its specialist sector of marine lubricants, anticipating the change and complexity that will be conferred on ship owners and managers. As of January 2015, ships in the world’s ECA areas will be required by law to burn fuel with a sulphur content of less than 0.1 percent.

Ship engines up until this point in time have burnt two types of fuel, high sulphur heavy fuel oil (HS HFO) and low sulphur heavy fuel oil (LS HFO). They will soon be consuming distillate fuels with a sulphur content of less than 0.1 percent and this change will necessitate the use of new engine lubricants that can maintain efficient operation and maintain cleanliness.

In co-operation with ship owners and managers, Total Lubmarine is ahead of regulatory change by developing Talusia LS 25, which was successfully introduced to the market two months ago in anticipation of the MARPOL Annex VI directive.

Jean-Philippe Roman noted:

“Talusia LS 25 allows ship operators to maintain excellent deposit control through its use of specially developed low-ash chemistry and means that they don’t need to resort to ‘homemade’ blending techniques aboard their vessels.”

Outside of ECAs, where it is permissible to use fuels with a sulphur content greater than 0.1 percent, Total Lubmarine provides Talusia HR 70 for use with HS HFO and Talusia LS 40 for LS HFO. Talusia Universal, Total’s single-cylinder lubricant can be used with a wide range of HFOs on previous generation engines. Talusia Universal 100 has been designed for modern engines potentially affected by cold corrosion issues. Total Lubmarine has a full range of solutions to suit all engine and fuel types, enabling ship owners to trade in harmony with the latest regulations.